STATE OF THE UNION. 



SPEECH 



OF 



HON. GARNETT B. ADRAIN, OF NEW JERSEY, 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 15, 1861. 



Mr. ADRAIN said: 

Mr. Chairman: It is now over seiventy-four 
years since the Federal Constitution was adopt- 
ed, and the Union of these States formed; and 
during all that period we have advanced wilii 
the greatest rapidity in population and extent of 
territor)', in the arts and sciences, in commerce, 
agriculture, education, and in all the elements 
which constitute a nation's prosperity and glory. 
And yet, notwithstanding our rapid growth as a 
nation, unparalleled in the world's history, there 
is a restless and persistent effort on the part of 
someof the southern States and people to destroy 
the very cause of all these glorious results — the 
Union, tlie hallowed Union, purchased and ce- 
mented by the blood and treasure of the great 
■patriots and statesmen who made and bequeathed 
it to us, their descendants, to preserve and defend. 
Can it be that tliey will succeed in their mad and 
unholy efforts.' Are there not conservative, pa- 
triotic, and true men enough in the southern States 
to resist this dark and angry wave of disunion 
which threatens to dash against and destroy the 
freest and best Government in the world? Sir, 
I cannotand will not believe that the whole South 
is so infected with the dangerous spirit of disloy- 
alty to the Federal Constitution and the Union, 
as to lead it to drag down the temple of American 
liberty, crushing the hopes and happiness of mil- 
lions of freemen here, and all the fond and earnest 
aspirations after liberty of the down-trodden and 
oppressed of earth everywhere. No, no; never, 
never! Men of the South who love the Union, 
(and there are many such,) and regard it as a 
great political blessing — the source of all our 
national prosperity, and the palladium of our 
liberties — come forth, and say to the rash and 
dangerous spirits among you: "Misguided men, 
we will not permit you to bring upon us all the 
horrors of a bloody civil war, and involve the 
whole country in one common ruin!" Remem- 
ber, men of the South, that your fathers and ours, 
in the days of American Independence, stood 
shoulder to shoulder in achieving one of the grand- 
est victories in the world's history. It was your 
fathers and our fathers, by their joint and patri- 
otic efforts, who established the Federal Consti- 
tution and gave us the Union; and will you, their 
descendants, now destroy forever the noble work 
of their great intellects, lofty patriotism, and un- 
dying devotion to the cause of human rights and 
of free Government.- No, no. Be true to your 
brave and patriotic ancestry; cherish with un- 
dying love their sacred memories; recount their 
many and great services in liberty's cause; and 



strive to maintain, in all its grand and beautiful 
proportions, the hallowed Union of our fathers — 
and may I not still say the hallowed Union of 
their sons.' — now and forever. 

But if the Union is to be dissolved, and men of 
the South are bent on doing such a mad and unholy 
act, let mc say to you that it will not be done 
without a resolute and determined effort on the 
part of all true and patriotic men at the North, at 
least, to prevent it by every constitutional means. 
The men of the North intend to stand by the 
Union, and defend it to the last, while there is a 
hope fur its preservatipn. In the North, the peo- 
ple have been educated to speak of and cherish 
the Union as the greatest political blessing ever 
conferred on any ])eople; and they will defend it 
agahist all assailants, from any and every quarter, 
whenever that defense becomes necessary. But 
I pray God that no other defense may ever be 
necessary than an appeal to the sense of patriot- 
ism and love of country of those who would at- 
tack and destroy it. I pray God that the North 
and South may never become involved in frater- 
nal strife, and brother's hand dyed in the blood 
of brother! May my eyes never witness such an 
unnatural and bloody warfare ! Heaven forbid 
it! God, in His ever wise and protecting care, 
avert from us such an awful event, which sickens 
the heart and chills the blood even to contemplate! 
Oh, may the dark and angry clouds of disunion, 
now gathering and lowering over the southern 
horizon, be all dissipated before more sober re- 
flection, truer sentiments of patriotism, and a 
higher regard for one common Federal Govern- 
ment — one vast and mighty Republic, the liome 
of the free, and the asylum of the oppressed of 
every land ! 

And, sir, I cannot permit this occasion to pass 
by without an allusion to that distinguished son 
of the South, Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, 
who has raised his bold and eloquent voice to 
quiet the storm of popular frenzy, and to call back 
an impulsive and misguided people to a sense of 
reason and of patriotism, and to those oblig-^tions 
which they owe to the Federal Governmiiit, and 
to the whole country. The gifted, eloqient, and 
soul-inspiring orator and statesman, Stiphens, in 
coming forth as he has done, amidst popular 
clamor and prejudice, in defense of tht Union, and 
in boldly rebuking the voice ofdisuni^n, has added 
further and imperishable laurels -o his already 
great name and charactei-; and I n uch regret, and 
the whole narion may well retfi-ei., that his voice is 
not now heard, as in days /ast, on this floor in 
this most perilous crisis /four country's his- 



.5 



tory, rebuking in the severest tones the spirit of 
disunion, and presenting in all their attractive 
colors the blessings and glory of one great, free, 
and united Government. 

What, sir, has produced this excitement and 
alienation of feeling on the part of the South to- 
wards the North ? Is it not owing to a fear on their 
part that the newly-eleclud President, Abraham 
Lincoln, will disturb the domestic institution of 
slavery in the southern Slates? Before, however, 
showing the utter groundlessness of this fear, per- 
mit me, in passing, to observe that southern men 
have, in a very great measure, contributed to his 
election. In the first place, through their threats 
of deserting Mr. Buchanan's administration, they 
drove him to forsake the great doctrine of popu- 
lar sovereignty, and to exert the weight of his 
official position and Executive power to impose 
upon the people of a Territory a constitution ut- 
terly repugnant to their political feelings and sen- 
timents, and not the embodiment of their true will. 
And this, we all know, at once led to a wide breach 
in the Democratic party, and inspired the Repub- 
lican party with new hopes of making another 
rigorous and perhaps successt'ul effort to obtain 
the reins of the national Government. And never 
did Mr. Buchanan, and never did southern men, 
make a greater mistake, as far as the success of 
the Democratic party and peace of the country 
were concerned, tlian when they endeavored to 
force through Congress, and fasten upon an un- 
willingand protestingpeople, the Lccompton con- 
stitution. And then again, e.Ktreme and ultra men 
of the South broke up the Charleston convention, 
by deserting the old Democratic doctrine of non- 
intervention by Congress with the question of 
slavery, and demanding a new principle — that it 
shouldf (Jirectly intervene for its protection. From 
that moment it was apparent, to the least observ- 
ant of the signs of the times, that the Democratic 
party was doomed to suffer certain defeat. If, 
sir, the principle of non-intervention had been 
honestly adhered to — and to which the whole De- 
mocracy was committed — and a candidate nom- 
inated at Charleston representing that principle, 
and cordially supported both south and north, 
nis day, in my opinion, the Democratic party 
would have been triumphant, and the South with 
no occasion to send forth their infuriated threats 
to dissolve the Union because of a Republican 
victory. Sir, there would then have been no such 
victory. This Republican victory — and listen to 
the trutii, ye men of the South, who have turned 
your backs upon the once lauded, but now de- 
spised, doctrine of popular sovereignty — is be- 
cause of your folly and desertion of great political 
principles, upon which the Democratic party glori- 
ously triumphed in ]85G,and upon which it could 
again have gloriously triumphed in 1860. How 
can y(A.\, then, in the face of these naked truths, 
now tur\i round and claim a Republican victory 
as a jusAjfiable cause for the dissolution of the 
Union, wKen you yourselves have contributed so 
much to lh\_ accomplishment of that victory? 

But, sir, ii there any real and immediate dan- 
ger to the Souih and her domestic institution of 
slavery? It is^true, Abraham Lincoln, a Repub- 
lican, will assurtc the reins of Government on 
the 4ih of MarcK^ext. It is also true, that he 
regards slavery as i rnoral, social, and political 
evil; but in this he isiot alone. There are hun- 



1 dreds and thousands in the North and Northwest 
j who fully agree with him in sentiment. And I 
1 am not far out of the way when I assert that even 
at the South a similar sentiment is entertained by 
many. Most certainly Mr. Lincoln has the right 
to regard slavery as an evil, as well as the great mass 
of southern men to regard it as a great blessing, 
and, if you please, as "the highest type of civil- 
ization." His merely holding, and publicly ex- 
pressing, too, such an opinion, is a right of which 
no one has just cause to complain. It is one of 
the greatestand most invaluable privileges of our 
Government, that all men are at liberty freely to 
express their sentiments on all political subjects. 
This right is one of the chief glories of our Re- 
public, which will last, I trust, as long as the 
Republic itself endures. 

The only real danger to the South would be, 
whenever Mr. Lincoln should attempt, and be 
able if so disposed, to interfere with and disturb 
the domestic institution of slavery. But has he 
even such a disposition ? This is the first im- 
portant inquiry. I am not, sir, the exponimt of 
Mr. Lincoln's political views, nor a member of 
the great Republican party which has elevated 
him to the highest office within the gift of the 
people. But, sir, I intend to do justice to Mr. 
Lincoln, although a political opponent, for the 
sake of truth, and to allay excitement and un- 
necessary apprehension, if possible, in endeav- 
oring to show that his political sentiments are 
not as radical and dangerous as represented. Hu 
has publicly declared in his speeches, long before 
the thought ever flashed through his mind of be- 
coming one day President of the United Statesr 
1. That he is opposed to all interference with 
slavery in the States. 2. That he is opposed to 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- 
bia, unless a majority of the people therein de- 
sire it abolished; and in the case of those who 
do not desire it, compensation should be made 
to them for the loss of their slaves. 3. That ho 
would consent to the admission of more slave 
States into the Union. 4. That he is in favor of 
a fugitive slave law; but would have some objec- 
tionable features removed fi-om the present one, 
without "lessening its efficiency." 5. That he 
is opposed to allowing negroes to vote, and even 
to " qualifying them to hold office;" and 6. That 
so long as the two races are in the same commu- 
nity, he is in " favor of having the superior posi- 
tion assigned to the white race." Now, sir, if 
these are his true and honest sentiments, he is 
not an Abolitionist, at least in its true significa- 
tion — one who would abolish slavery and set the 
whole negro race at liberty. He is, judging him 
by these sentiments, a conservative man, from 
whom the South has nothing to fear. 

But it may be asked, has he not also advanced 
other sentiments conflicting with these conserva- 
tive views ? Has he not given utterance to the doc- 
trine of what is called "the irrepressible conflict," 
which has sent such terror and dismay to so many 
southern hearts ? Has he not declared that a house 
divided against itself cannot stand; and that this 
country must i)ccome all one thingor the other — all 
slave or all free? Well, admit all this for the sake 
of the argument, and that he is a full believer in 
the conflict between the two systems of slave and 
free labor: but what of that? After all, these are 
but mere individual opinions; and if never car- 

Weet. rv68. HlBt. 8o'- 



ried out into any law, what injury can they do 
the South? The real question to be asked and 
answered is, what can Mr. Lincoln do on entering 
upon his high and responsible duties as Presi- 
dent to deny to the South her just constitutional 
rights? In reply to that question, sir, there can 
be but one answer; and that is, nothing whatever. 
As this is a G-overnment of law, and acts by law. 
I pray you, what law can Mr. Lincoln have en- 
acted, even if so disposed, to interfere with and 
disturb a single southern right? Why, sir, will 
not the Senate be opposed to him, as well as the 
next House of Representatives? Will he not be 
utterly powerless to do mischief, even if he should 
intend any? Why, sir, he will not be able even 
to form his own Cabinet, and start the Govern- 
ment, without the consent and approval of a Dem- 
ocratic Senate. Flere is a check upon him at the 
■very outset; so that he will come into office with- 
out the power, even if so disposed, to strike a 
single blow at the domestic institution of slavery, 
which the people of the South are determined to 
cherish and defend at all extremities. 

What, then, is the true and patriotic course for 
the South to pursue? Is it to rush madly out of 
the Union, and then into a bloody civil war, with, 
all its indescribable horrors? Is that the kind 
of remedy for evils which they do not really 
suffer, but only imagine may happen ? Is it not 
wiser and safer and happier to remain in the 
Union and bear with anticipated evils, than rush 
headlong into those which will niost surely prove 
to be both real and dreadful ? Within the Union 
is the place to demand and maintain your just 
rights. In it you are safe, prosperous, and free. 
Go out of it, and what security will you have, 
even for your slave property, which now occa- 
sions all your anxieties and fears? For this you 
will have no protection. Establish a southern 
confederacy to-morrow; and with a northern 
republic alongside of you without slavery, and 
which would not tolerate its existence within its 
borders, you will then see how long you will be 
able to hold your slaves in bondage. I shudder 
to think of the bloody insurrections and horrid 
massacres and devastated fields which would 
soon follow as the bitter fruits of your madness 
and folly. 

The Federal Constitution is the supreme law 
of the land; and in conformity with it, Mr. Lin- 
coln has been elected our next President. His 
simple election cannot be a ground for a dissolu- 
tion of this Government, when the election is 
strictly in conformity with the laws of the land. 
If the Federal Constitution is to be respected and 
obeyed at all, it is the duty of all, both South 
and North, to submit to the clear expression of 
the popular will through the ballot-box. It is 
true, his political sentiments are obnoxious to the 
great mass of southern men, and so they are to 
great numbers in the northern States. But re- 
member, Mr. Lincoln is only elected President for 
a limited and short period of time, which will 
soon pass away with all the excitement and dan- 
ger which his election seems to have occasioned. 
The wise and great men who made the Federal 
Constitution limited the term of office of Presi- 
dent to the short period of four years, with the 
express view that the people might soon remedy 
any mistake they had m;tde in the choice of a 
Chief Magistrate' by the election of another, who 



might prove more acceptable to them. If Mr. 
Lincoln, then, should manifest a want of devo- 
tion to the Federal Constitution, and to the just 
rights of all sections of the land , the remedy is pre- ' 
scribed in the Constitution itself; and the people 
will soon be able to apply it. I say, then, let Mr. 
Lincoln enter upon the duties of his high office; 
and let him be judged only by his administrative 
acts. He has done nothing yet to interfere with the 
rights of the South. If he is, as some contend, 
a full believer in the irrepressible-conflict doc- 
trine, he may yet perhaps change his views on 
this subject, or at least deem it most prudent not 
to advance or attempt to carry them into eflect 
while President of the United States. There may 
be a very wide difference in the sentiments and 
acts of a mere political partisan and one called 
upon to preside over and direct the destinies of a 
great and free people. It will be (for who can 
doubt it?) the great desire and aim of Mr. Lin- 
coln to promote the highest interests, happiness, 
and perpetuity of the country. It cannot be that 
he would prove even so blind to his own reputa- 
tion, if actuated by no higher consideration, as to 
pursue any course likely to lead to the injury of 
the southern States, and a dismemberment of this 
Government. I,s it not, then, time enough for 
southern men to take their stand, and proclaim 
their doctrine of secession, when Mr. Lincoln, as 
President, actually attempts to interfere with their 
peculiar institution of slavery, and to violate the 
Federal Constitution? Whenever he should do 
that, depend upon it, men of the South, you will 
not be tiie only ones in the country who would 
resist his unhallowed efforts, and uphold the Con- 
stitution, the faithful observance of which, in all 
its provisions and guarantees, constitutes our only 
safety, happiness, and liberty as a people. It is 
as much the interest of the people of the North to 
respect and obey that sacred instrument as of the 
people of the South. They cannot tell when, 
perhaps, itmightbe perverted to their own injury; 
and hence it is the true interest of us all, both 
North and South, East and West, to maintain 
uiviolate the Federal Constitution in all its parts. 
It may be said, " Are you not aware, sir, that 
in the North the Federal Constitution is alreadyt 
violated in the passage of acts by northern Lcgis- 
laturosobstructingand nullifying the fugitive slave 
law?" Yes, sir, I am aware of all this, and not 
only regret, but strongly condemn it. But might 

1 I not retort, if so disposed, by asserting that the 

I laws of the country prohibiting the African slave 

[ trade are openly violated at the South, and that 

; hundreds of poor Africans, torn from their native 
homes, and all that was dear to them there, are 
now in bondage on southern plantations? But I 
have no desire to dwell upon this constant infrac- 

j lion of the humane laws of the land. The viola- 
tion of law at the South is no justification of its 
violation on the part of any of the northern Slates 

j or people; and whenever it is done, il liehooyes 
all men, both North and South, who desire to live 

, under a Government of law, to denounce and 

\ prohibit it. 

There can be no question thatCongress has full 
power to enact a fugitive slave law, in order to 
give practical effect to a very plain provision of 

i the Federal Constitution. Whether the present 
law is what it should be in all respects, is a dis- 

I puted question. It is objectionable to very many 



on the ground of its not providing for a trial by 
jury in the case of a master demanding the return 
of his fugitive slave. But whether right or wrong, 
a good law or a liad one, it is the law of the land, 
and ought to be obeyed. And no State has a right 
to nullify its provisions and obstruct their faithful 
execution. And wlierever this has been done in 
any of the northern States, itcannotlie too strongly 
condemned; and the people of the North ought 
not to sufler their prejudices to lead them to enact j 
laws which are directly in the face of the Federal 1 
Constitution. It is not only in violation of that ; 
Constitution, but of the plighted faith between the ] 
North and the South. And besides, if the law of j 
the land can be violated in one instance, it can be 
done in another. And then, who does not know 
that men will soon come to regard a law as con- 
stitutional or not, very much as they are affected 
by their local interests and prejudices.' There is 
but one safe rule for a law-abiding people to fol- 
low, and that is, entire submission to the laws of 
the land until they are modified or repealed . It can- 
not, and never will, be the ca.se, that all the people 
willapprove of every law of Congress. And hence, 
if they are permitted to set up their individual opin- 
ions, and oftentimes nothing but mere prejudices, 
as the rule of their action , it would not be long before 
there would be no law, but anarchy, bloodshed, 
and the downfall of our Republic. And while 1 
condemn all violation of law and efforts at the 
South to carry on and reopen the African slave 
trade, 1 no less strongly condemn every act and 
movement of men and States at the North to nul- 
lify and set at naught one of the most necessary 
laws of the land for the preservation of the peace 
and perpetuity of the Union. 

However much, sir, some of the northern States 
have gone astray in unv/isely passing laws which 
obstruct and nullify the due execution of the fugi- 
tive slave law, I am happy and proud to say that 
New Jersey, my own State, has not followed 
their bad and prejudicial example. Although a 
majority of her citizens are oppo.sed to the exist- 
ence of slave Ial)or on their own sacred and blood- 
dyed soil, yet they have not been unmindful to 
observe all the requirements of the Federal Con- 
stitution, and what is due to the lull protection j 
and enjoyment of sou thorn right sunder that sacred i 
instrument. In that instrument a provision was 
inserted providing for the return of the fugitive j 
slave to his master; and had it not been, the Fed- 
eral Constitution would never have been adopted. 
If there had been no such provision, there would 
have been no protection to the master of his slave 
property. New Jersey, then, ever obedient to the ; 
requirements of that Constitution, having been 
among the first to ratify and adopt it as. the su- 
preme law of the land, has never sullied her patri- ; 
otic and fair name by the enactment of what are j 
called personal liberty bills, or any other bills 
which conflict with and obstruct its provisions. 
There mky be some objections among her people 
to the present fnicitive slave law; but all. Repub- 
licans and all, I fully believe, are in favor of its 
enforcement. And, sir, I caimot but here allude 
to one of the most able and distinguished sons of 
New Jersey, and one of the best representatives 
of Republican sentiment in tliat State, who, dur- 
ing the last presidential contest, maintained in his 
public speeches the constitutionality of a fugitive 
slave law, although he entertains some objections 



to the present one. I allude, sir, to Hon. William 
L. Dayton, who is prominently spoken of in con- 
nection with Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, whose tal- 
ents, constitutional learning, integrity of purpose, 
devotion to the Union, urbanity and dignity of 
manner, would, in my opinion, not only grace, 
but give great strength and character to that Cab- 
inet. 

Not only, sir, has New Jersey not tarnished 
her fair name and records with nullifying laws, 
but she luis adopted a fugitive slave law of her 
own, which is full and complete in all of its pro- 
visions, for the faithful return of the slave on de- 
mand and due proof of ownership. It is unneces- 
sary here to recite those pro visions; but they are all 
any slaveholder could desire for the protection of 
his pro]5erty. But, sir, she has gone still further 
to manifest a kind and fraternal feeling towards 
her sister States of the South, in providing for 
any person, not an inhabitant of her State, who 
shall be traveling to or from, or passing through 
it, or coming into it, from any other of the United 
States, and having a temporary residence therein, 
to bring with him or her any slave or servant; 
and on removal or leaving the State, to take such 
elave or servant out of it; the number, however, 
of such slaves or servants not to exceed the usual 
number of personal or household slaves or ser- 
vants which may be kept and maintained by such 
traveler or temporary resident. 

After such an exhibition of fidelity to the Fed- 
eral Constitution, and gf fraternal feeling towards 
the South on the part of New Jersey, it ought, at 
least, to satisfy the most inturiatcd disunionistthat 
the whole North is not abolitionized, as he most 
unjustly supposes, before he strikes a deadly blow 
at the Government, disrupting every tie which 
binds it together. 

But it is demanded that the northern States which 
have adopted these personal liberty bills should 
at once repeal them, as a condition of the South 
remaining in the Union. Now,l wish with all my 
heart that these laws were repealed, on the ground 
of justice to the South, and obedience to the Fed- 
I eral Constitution; but whether they will be re- 
j pealed or not is yet to be seen. In my opinion, 
1 they will be. Already steps have been taken in 
j some of the northern Stales for that purpose. Let 
the South proceed and make their appeal to noi;th- 
ern men, and show the injustice and unconstitu- 
tionality of these laws, and they may in this way 
be able to create a reaction in public opinion, and 
effect their object. There is a sense of justice and 
of right in the northern breast which may be 
strongly appealed to; and through it is a more 
likely way for the South to effect their object than' 
by any threats and eflbrts to dissolve the Union. 
The mass of the people at the North, no matter 
to what political party they belong, intend to do 
right, and will do right, if the clear way is only 
pointed out to them by calm reason and convinc- 
ing argument. But thev are no more to bedrivert 
and frightened than the men of the South. What 
they do will depend on sober reflection and an 
honest conviction of right, duty, and justice. 

However objectiona'ble these personal liberty 

bills may be, yet, in fact, what great injury or 

loss have they occasioned to the South ? Has not 

the fugitive slave law, as a general thing, been 

J faithfully carried out.? Are not the fugitive slaves, 

j except in a few instances, on demand and satis- 



factory proof, delivered up to their masters ? And 
suppose a few have escaped: is their number or 
value of sufficient consequence to outweigh the 
blessings and worth of the Union, and a sufficient 
cause for its dissolution ? 

But what fear is there, as far as Mr. Lincoln is 
concerned, that the fugitive slave law will not be 
fully observed. In the first place, he has declared 
in favor of such a law; and secondly, he will be 
sworn to see the laws of the Government faithfully 
executed; and if he does not, he will prove false to 
his oath ofofiice. May we not, then, safely take it 
for granted, both from his declarations and the 
oath of office he will be called upon to assume, that 
the fugitive slave law will be safe in his hands, 
and that all the fears of the South in this respect 
are wholly groundless. 

Another ground of apprehension on the part of 
southern men is, that they will be deprived of 
what they conceive to be their just rights in the 
common Territoi-ies of the Government. It is 
maintained that southern men have an equal right 
with those of the North to go into the Territories 
and take with them their slave property. Now 
it is all true that the Territories are open and 
common to all, from the North and South, East 
and West; and I should like to know into what 
Territory the slaveholder is now prevented by 
any law of Congress from taking his slave prop- 
erty. None, sir; none. Nor will there beany such 
law enacted under the administration of Mr. Lin- 
coln. The Senate and next House of Represent- 
atives will be against the passage of any such law; 
and there is the Supreme Court of the United 
States to pronounce it, if passed, to be unconsti- 
tutional, as it has already done. It is the height 
of folly and madness, then, for southern men to be 
rushing out of the Union, and turning their backs 
upon the Government, and bidding it defiance, be- 
fore they are actually deprived of any of, what 
they consider, their constitutional rights. 

This question of congressional prohibition is 
now, I think, at an end. I do not believe that the 
Republican party will press it, or make any effort 
to have it established as the law of our Govern- 
ment; for the reason that they must see the utter 
impossibility of effecting their object without a 
destruction of that Government. It is not forme 
to dictate to that party what course to ]3ursue in 
the present critical and dangerous condition of 
the country; but I know what I would do if a 
member of that party. It would be to fall back 
upon some fair and constitutional method, by 
which the disturbing question of slavery in the 
Territories might be settled and put to rest for- 
ever. Is it not high time, for tlie preservation of 
the peace and perpetuity of the Union, that this 
was done? This question has long been the chief 
cause of sectional agitation, and of arraying the 
South against the North, until the country now 
stands on the very brink of ruin; and as long as 
we have two great sectional parties — the one de- 
mandii.g the protection of slavery in the Territo- 
ries, and the other its prohibition — there will be 
constant strife, vehement declamation, and wild 
threats of disunion — disturbing the peace and en- 
dangering the stability of our Republic. Let us 
now arrest this great and dangerous evil; and if 
once this question of slavery in the Territories is 
permanently settled, our country will bound on 
with renewed energy, and with giant strides, to 



still further and grander heights of greatness and 
glory. And now, that the great leader of the Re- 
publican party has spoken in such sweet strains 
of conciliation and peace, why should those who 
have long admired and followed him hesitate to 
imitate his patriotic example. Mr. Seward, in 
his recent speech in the Senate — no less marked 
for its great elegance of style and oratorical power, 
than for its kind and conciliatory character — sank 
the partisan in the patriot and statesman, when 
he uttered these patriotic and Union-loving words: 
" Beyond a doubt, union is vitally important to the Re- 
publican citizens of the United States ; but it is just as 
impoitatu to the whole people. Republicanism and Union 
are, therefore, not convertible terms. Republicanism is 
subordinate to Union, as everything else is and ought tO' 
be — Republicanism, Democracy, every other political name 
and thing ; all are subordinate — and they ought to disap- 
pear in the presence of the great question of Union." 

Let them, then, disappear; and with fraternal 
affection, and with eyes fastened upon that bright 
constellation which has solongbeenourpride and 
glory, let us swear on the altar of our common 
country not to permit one star to go down into 
endless night. I do not yet despair of the Re- 
public, but still see a ray of light through the 
dark and angry cloud which overhangs us, to en- 
courage our hearts, and lead us to expect the full 
sunshine of joy; and peace, and happiness, to 
break once more upon our broad and beloved land. 
I should prefer, sir, that the doctrine of non-in- 
tervention by Congress with the question of sla- 

1 very in the Territories, should be made the basis 
of our sectional differences; thereby leaving the 
people to determine that question for themselves, 
like any other of their domestic institutions. I 
have longmaintainedthis doctrine, as it is founded 
on thegreatprinciplc ofall popularGovernnients — 
the will of the people; but in a spirit of conces- 
sion and compromise, I am ready to sustain and 
vote for other propositions which have been sub- 
mitted. It is not my intention now to discuss 
any of these propositions; and I would simply 
signify my readiness to support the proposition of 
Senator Rice, with some modification, to divide 
the Territories into two great States, to be called 
Washington and Jefferson; or the proposition 
introduced by the gentleman from Tennessee, 
[Mr. Etheridge,] to extend the Missouri com- 
promise line ;and some others which I might name, 
but which is unnecessary at the present time. 

I am, sir, as you will perceive, for concession 
and compromise; and in expressing this senti- 
ment, I am but reflecting the views and wishes 
of a great majority of the people of New Jersey, 
whom I in part represent. I would not be a true 
and faithful Representative of that small but gal- 
lant State, if I was unwilling to yield to some 
fair and honorable measure of adjustment for the 
preservation of the Union. It is my high honor 
to represent a people who are devotedly attached 
to the Federal Constitution and the Union; and 
they intend to preserve and defend both. New 
Jersey was the third State, in point of time, to 
ratify and adopt that Constitution as the supreme 
law of theland; and her many proud battle-fields 
are rich with the blood of her heroic sons, freely 
shed in the cause of American liberty. There is 
no State more strongly attached to the Union; 
and, as one of her Representatives, it is my determ- 
ination to cling fast to it and preserve it, if in 

I my power, by every fair, honorable, and patriotic 



6 



effort. And I most fervently pray God tliat some 
peaceable settlement of our sectional differences 
may be adopted, which will be satisfactory to the 
North and South, East and West, and which will 
bind the people of the .several States too^ethcr in 
fraternal and everlasting peace and friendship, 
under one common Federal Government, and un- 
der one common and glorious flag. 
" 'Tis the star-spanglod banner; oh, Ion;; may it wave 
O'er the land of tiie tree, and the home of the brave." 

The spirit of concession, Mr. Chairman, is a 
generous and manly spirit. It requires, too, much 
more real moral cotirage to display it than to ad- 
here persistently and doggedly to one's own opin- 
ion and a particular line of policy. It was this 
high-souled and magnanimous spirit which ani- 
mated the breasts of the fathers of the Republic, 
and which brought into existence the Federal 
Constitution and our glorious Union. Wash- 
ington, the president of the convention which 
formed that Constitution, in a letter dated Septem- 
ber 17, 1787, in submitting to the old Congress 
that sacred instrument, used the following lan- 
guage, which I would most earnestly commend 
to the attentive consideration of every member of 
this House: 

'•■ In all our deliberations on this subject, we kept steadily 
in our view that wliich appears to us the greatest interest 
of every true American, the consolidation of the Union, in 
which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, perhaps 
our national existence. Tliis important consideration, se- 
riously and deeply impressed on our minds, led each State 
in the convention to be less rigid on points of inferior mag- 
nitude than might have been otherwise expected; and thus 
tlie Constitution which we now present, is the result of a 
spirit of amity and of tliat mutual deference and concession 
which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered 
indispensable." 

Sir, if Washington, and Madison, and Ham- 
ilton, and those other great patriots and states- 
men of that day, could e.xercise a spirit of mutual 
deference and concession to obtain that great end 
— the consolidation of the Union — why may not 
we also manifest a like spirit for the preservation 
of that Union ? If our fathers, and such fathers, 
could do it, we need not hesitate long to imitate 
their noble example of patriotism and love of 
country. What they did was for us, their de- 
scendants, that we might enjoy the priceless 
blessings of a free and united Government; and 
let us so act as to hand down these blessings to 
our children. I 

" The greatest glory of a free-born people, 
Is to transmit that freedom to their children." 

But, sir, what is the remedy jiroposed for the 
anticipated wrongs of the South? It is secession — 
peaceable secession, as it is called — but in fact, re- 
bellion . Now this idea of a State going out of the 
Union just when she pleases, and upon whatever 
cause she pleases, and without any cause at all, is 
so contrary to all just notions of the character of 
our form of government, that it cannot and must 
not be tolerated. Why, sir, acknowledge the right 
of each State to do ihis, and where is our boasted 
Union. It is nothing but a rope of sand, of no 
strength whatever to hold the States together, and 1 
which may be broken at luiy moment at the mere 
caprice, prejudice, and folly of the people. All 
that a State would then have to do, on the passage 
of any law of Congress distasteful to her, or the 
election of a President of whom she disapproves, 
or upon a mere whim, would be to proclaim her- 
self out of the Union, and throw herself back upon 



her offended dignity, and what she calls her re- 
served and sovereign rights. This whole theory 
of a peaceable secession is utterly fallacious, and 
was never dreamed of by the men who formed the 
Federal Constitution and established our form of 
government. If it had been the intention of the 
framers of that Constitution to give to any State 
this right of secession, a provision to that effect 
would doubtless have been inserted in it. But, 
no; the authors of that sacred instrument were en- 
deavoring to form a Union not to be broken, but 
one that would be permanent, enduring for ages, 
and forever. Why, sir, the very first words of the 
])reamble to the Constitution which greet our 
vision go to show that its establishment was for 
the purpose of forming "a more perfect Union." 
Yes, "a more perfect Union." These are the 
very words of the Constitution itself. And yet 
we are to be told that, under that instrument, the 
work of great patriots and statesmen, and made 
chiefly to bind the States in one strong and en- 
during bond, any one State, or more, may peace- 
ably, with or without cause, withdraw from the 
Union, and destroy the national Government. 
If such a doctrine is true, then the Federal Con- 
stitution is a failure, and our Government is a fail- 
ure, and the men who framed them both have 
utterly failed in accomplishing what they most 
certainly intended, and so declared, " a more 
perfect Union." 

This idea of secession, however, is nothing new 
in the history of the country. It was started years 
ago, by one of the leading and most gifted men of 
the South — John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. 
And ever since his day there has been lurking 
about in that State the dark and treasonable de- 
sign of disunion. South Carolinahasbeen restless 
for years, and nothing, it seems, will satisfy her 
but to go out of the Union, and drag down the 
national Government, in the language of one of 
her talented but impulsive sons, " from turret to 
foundation stone." And yet this day South Car- 
olina is suffering from no oppression, or any ac- 
tual wrong at the hands of the Federal Govern- 
ment. The domestic institution of slavery is safe 
within her borders; and she has no just cause to 
complain of the non-execution of the fugitive slave 
law, as none of her slaves, or very few, at least, 
ever run away or escape. This idea of secession 
is claimed on the ground that the Federal Consti- 
tution is a compact between sovereign States, and 
that, each State being sovereign, a withdrawal 
from the Union is but an exercise of their sover- 
eignly. But, sir I d(my that the Constitution was 
an act of the States, or State Legislatures, or ema- 
nated from them at all. It was the act of the peo- 
ple, and of the whole people, and they alone estab- 
lished it. In the language of the preamble of the 
Constitution, " We, the people of the United States, 
inorder,"&c., " do ordain and establish this Con- 
stitution for the United States of America." It 
was the work of the people themselves, and a com- 
pact and agreement between them, and not the 
States. And hence the people alone have a right 
to modify and change the Constitution an'd their 
form of government. 

It is not true in fact, however, as contended, 
that the States are wholly sovereign and independ- 
ent. In becoming parts of one great national 
Government, they parted with certain attributes 
of sovereignty to that Government, for the com- 



mon g:ood of all the States. No State has a right ' laws of the Federal Government in that State, 
j-.i 1 <, .,,1 where there are no United States courts, and no 

United States district attorneys or marshals ? In 
her case, I would reply as follows: if she does 
not desire within iicr borders such courts or such 
officers for the administration of justice, be it so. 
The inconveniences of such a course only fall 
upon her own people. If she does not desire, 
either, the benefits of the United States mail, be it 
so; and let her people be at the expense and 
trouble of making their own postal arrangements. 
And if she also desires to be without United States 
Senators and Representatives on this floor, be it 
so. The Federal Government will still move on, 
notwithstanding tjieir absence. 

But there are certain laws which the Govern- 
ment must carry out, and these appertain to the 
collection of the revenue. The collection of the 
revenue of this Government cannot be interfered 
with by the people of South Carolina without 
resistance. That revenue can be collected at 
the harbor of Cliarleston, under the flng of the 
United States floating at tlie mast-head of our 
ships-of-war, and from the parapet of that im- 
pregnable fortress, Sumter, now in charge of that 
brave and gallant soldier, Anderson, wliose mili- 
tary genius and devotion to the rights and honor 
of his country have covered his name with im- 
perishable glory. And, sir, 1 am happy to have 
it in my power to commend the President for re- 
sisting the strong ajipeals made to him to with- 
draw that bold and faithful officer from the only 
safe and sure position where the rights and prop- 
erty of the Government can be effectually pro- 
tected. Let the President only remain firm, now 
that he has assumed a bold and patriotic position 
on the side of the Constitution and Union. It is 
unfortunate that he had not done so at an earlier 
day, and placed all the forts at Charleston and 
along the southern coast in such a complete state 
of defense as would have dissipated all idea of 
their capture. If he had only taken this pre- 
cautionary step, in my opinion, the onward 
march of disunion would have been arrested, and 
the passions of southern men given way to sober 
reflection and to a real sense of their mad and 
dangerous undertaking. But even at this late 
hour, I hail with grateful emotions his patriotic 
determination to execute the laws and maintain 
the rights and dignity of the Federal Govern- 
ment. And in this determination he will be fully 
and cordially sustained by the American people 
everywhere who love their country, and intend 
to uphold and defend a Government which, if 
once destroyed, can never, never be replaced. 
I am, sir, for peace; and will sustain any fair 
~"-. — ,— -•■"-" -"-^ "wi-o .jn,cuc, iuiu ueciaiB i and honorable measure to preserve it, as I have 
herself out ot the Union, as has already been [ already intimated, between the North and Sou 
done, what then.' Is she to be coerced back into I ' "' 



to make treaties, declare war, levy taxes, &c. All 
these acts of sovereign power can alone be exer- 
cised by the General Government. And besides, 
the citizens of each State owe allegiance to the 
Federal Government, and are bound to obey the 
Federal Constitution , and all laws passed by Con- 
gress in conformity with it. In fact, if any State 
should make a law contrary to that Constitution, 
her citizens owe obedience to that instrument 
first, as the supreme law, in preference to the 
jaw of their own State, which they may utterly 
disregard. It is idle, then, to maintain for a State 
complete sovereign power, as if the States were 
masters of the Federal Government, and could 
destroy it at pleasure. Said the great Webster, 
on a great and memorable occasion, in the other 
branch of Congress: 

" This Governiiipnt, sir, is tlie independent oftVpring of 
the popular will. Nay, more, if the whole truth must Ite 
told, tlie people brought it into e.xistence, established it, and 
have hitherto supported it, for this very purpose, among 
others, of Imposing certain salutary reslraintt; on State sov- 
ereignties. The States cannot make war ; Ihev cannot con- 
tract alliances ; they cannot make each for itself separate 
regulations of connneree ; they cannot lay imposts; they 
cannot coin money." 

The right of revolution is altogether another 
and difterent thing from the right of a peaceable 
secession, which is claimed as entirely consistent 
with the Federal Constitution and our form of i 
national Government. If those southern States | 
which desire to go out of the Union, and break j 
-Up the Government, base their action on the 
inherent right of revolution in the people to | 
change and overthrow the Government under i 
which they live, in case of intolerable wrong ' 
and oppression, no one can dispute this right, j 
But they do not claim this revolutionary right; 
nor is there any such intolerable wrong and "op- 
pression. This right of a State or people thereof 
to absolve themselves from all allegiance to the 
Federal Government, without the consent of the 
rest cannot be admitted. It was long ago dis- 
puted and utterly exploded in a most masterly 
argument, the nullification proclamation of An- 
drew Jackson, who was called, as President, to 
exert his greiU talents, patriotism, and firmness, i 
in then crushing the hydra-headed monster dis- j 
union. In his bold and determined language: 

•'The right of the people of a single State to absolve 
themselves at will, and without the consent of the other 
Slates, from their most solemn obligations, and hazard the [ 
liberties and happiness of the millions comprising this I 
Union, cannot be acknowledged. Such aulliority is be- [ 
lieved to be utterly repugnant both to the principles upon • 
which the General Government is constituted, and to the ' 
objects which it is expres.sly I'ormed to attain." j 

But, sir, in case a State does secede, and declare 



the Union, or jiermitted to depart in peace, and set 
up for herself as an independent and sovereign 
Power ? If by coercion is meant a declaration of 
war against her, tlien 1 am not for that; but if it 
means the faithful execution of the laws of the 
Federal Government, then I am for their execu- 
tion. But it may be asked, how are you goino- 
to execute your laws in a seceding State where 
the people have abolished all the Federal courts, 
and dispensed with all Federal judges and officers 
to carry out the laws? There, for instance, is 
South Carolina. How are you to execute the 



- . th. 

In this perilous crisis, it is my intention to rise 
above mere party, and act for my country, my 
whole country, and nothing but my country. No 
man is more opposed to a war than I am — a 
war, too, between brothers. I could enter with 
my whole heart, and with alacrity, into a con- 
test with any foreign Power which invaded our 
rights, and insulted our flag. But to go into 
a deadly contest with those of my own land is 
enough to sicken and chill the heart, and renders 
the very thought of war indescribably horrible. 
And yet the laws of the land must be sustained 
and enforced. The President has sworn to sup- 



8 



port the Constitution of tlie United States, and so 
have we. The people of this country expect us 
to do it with strict fidelity, at all and every haz- 
ard. The faithful observance of the Constitution 
and execution of the laws is no war. It is no just 
cause for a war, although a war might result from 
it. But if it should arise from any such cause, 
who v/ill bring itupon us? Those States and peo- 
ple which violate all plighted faith in coming into, 
the Union, and now go out of it, setting the Con- 
stitution and laws at open defiance, and boldly 
seizing upon the property of the Federal Govern- 
ment. 

The faithful execution of the laws is not only 
necessary for the protection of the rights and prop- 
erty of the Government; but for the very exist- 
ence of the Government itself. And if there is not 
sufficient power in this Government to enforce its 
own laws, protect its own property, and resist 
open rebellion to its lawful authority, it is high 
time the American people should know and un- 
derstand the weakness of their Government. If 
this is the case, such a Government is not worth 
living under or y^reserving; and I am for another, 
of more strength, and which has the ]Jower to ex- 
ecute its laws, protect its property, and preserve 
its own dignity and character. But, in my opin- 
ion, our Government is good enough, and strong 
enough. All that is requisite is, that the men who 
are placed at its head should be faithful to their 
high trust, and be vigilant sentinels on the watch- 
tower of American liberty. " The price of liberty 
is eternal vigilance." Our liberty was won by 
the blood and treasure of patriots and heroes, and 
it can only be preserved by constant and unceas- 
ing care, and by a resolute determination to resist 
every effort to undermine and overthrow it. 

The men, sir, who would dare to dissolve the 
Union, and overthrow the freest and best Gov- 
ernment on earth, would be guilty of a great po- 
litical crime. I can conceive of nothing more hor- 
rible than tobethcauthorsof suchan act. Itwould 
not only entail upon us all the horrors of civil war, 
and be the downfall of all popular government, 
but would crush out forever all the noble efforts 
of patriots throughout the world to give political 
freedom to the oppressed and downtrodden by 
high-handed tyranny. Oh, what a sad spectacle 
it would be for patriots and lovers of freedom 
to behold ! The tyrants and despots of the Old 
World would rejoice, and sing peans to the down- 
fall of liberty here; while the toiling bondmen of 
European d(-'spotisms would weep, as all hope of 

folitical ransom dies out forever in their breasts, 
t is our example of Republican liberty that has 
fired many a patriot heart, and nerved many a 
bold arm to strike the blow in freedom's cause. 
And without citing other marked instances, had 
it not been for our example, who supposes that 
we would have witnessed the heroic achievements 
of one of the greatest generals of the age — Gari- 
baldi — to relieve his countrymen from cruel op- 
pression, and clothe them with the rights and 
blessings of freedom? Cease, then, ye men of the 
South, all these unholy efforts to dissolve the 
Union. Let your excited passions subside, and 
come once more to regard the people of the North 
as not all Abolitionists, who would destroy your 



cherished institutions. It is true, there are Abo- 
litionists at the North ; but very fewin number, and 
utterly powerless to do you any serious injury. 
There are but few Wendell Phillipses, Gerrit 
Smiths, and William Lloyd Garrisons among us. 
Do not regard their rant, wild declamation, and ve- 
hement invective, as the true expression of north- 
ern sentiment. My honest judgment is, that the 
great mass of northern men have no disposition to 
deny to you any of your just constitutional rights. 
Soon the period will be here when you will see what 
the Republican party will do, which you so much 
dread, and which you would make the occasion 
of the destruction of the Government. Had you 
not better remain awhile before going out of the 
Union? and perhaps, after all, Mr. Lincoln may 
dissipate all your fears, and give you no occasion 
for taking the fatal step which some of you con- 
template. 

In conclusion, sir, it should be the earnest and 
patriotic effort of all men, both North and South, 
to restore, if possible, that cordial and fraternal 
feeling which once existed between them. All 
should endeavor to live up to, and faithfully carry 
out, all the provisions and guarantees of the Fed- 
eral Constitution. That Constitution is the su- 
preme law of the land, overriding all other law 
which conflicts with it. It must be submitted to 
and observed in all its parts, or else there is an 
end of our Federal Government. It is only by 
submission to law that peace, good order, and 
Government itself, can exist. In the despotisms 
of the Old World, the sword and the bayonet go v-^ 
em and hold the peo])le in check; but here it is 
their own free will, embodied in the laws of the 
country which they themselves have made. And 
may that will ever be on tlie side of the Federal 
Constitution and the laws of the land, and be ever 

! ready to act for the good of the whole country'. 

I But above all, may the will of the people ever be 

! on the side of the Union, as our fathers made it! 

i In days that are past, this Union has been vio- 
lently assailed and threatened with destruction; 

! but in every instance with utter failure and dis- 
comfiture to those who did it. In every time of 
its danger, there have been good and patriotic 
men, both north and south, east and west, to 
rally to its defense, as the source of all our mani- 
fold blessings as a nation. Thus far our noble 
ship of State has outlived every violent tempest 
and dangerous shock; and I pray God she may 
yet outride the present boisterous gale. Let us 
not only pray for it, 'but work for it. There can 
be, and ought to be, but one ardent wish and 
strong determined will, in every patriotic heart, 
to preserve a Union which has cost so much; 
around which cluster so many precious memories: 
and which is the true source of all our nation's 
prosperity and glory. In the language of An- 
drew Jackson, whose life and services asj a soldier 
and statesman alford the best evidence of his 
strong love of the Union: " The Federal Union: 
it must be preserved." And in that other lan- 
guage, embodying the same great patriotic thought 
of another great man, Daniel Webster, whose 
love for and devotion to the Union were equally 
strong, " Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable." 



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